20/08/2026

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SPORTS THURSDAY | AUG 20, 2026

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Musiala gives health update after second collapse in four days JAMAL MUSIALA has disclosed that he is experiencing “treatable absence seizures” after collapsing on the pitch twice in four days. things first, I am doing well. I am incredibly grateful for your messages and your support!

SIDENETTING Infantino hit self-destruct button: EPL chief PREMIER LEAGUE chief executive Richard Masters says under-fire Fifa president Gianni Infantino pressed the “self-destruct button” over his botched plan to bring private investment into the World Cup. Kevin Lamour, who broke ranks with senior directors at world football’s governing body last month and issued a scathing statement criticising Infantino over the plans, left his job as Fifa’s chief operating officer on Monday. Uefa has been a vocal critic of Infantino and England’s Football Association has also withdrawn its sup port for the FIFA president. “This is a problem of Fifa’s making,” Masters told the BBC . “This is a self-inflicted wound. The organisation has pressed the self destruct button, and the consequences of that flow now into the solutions that need to be found. I don’t think FIFA should be ever contemplating selling off a stake in the World Cup. They’re a not-for-profit organisation. They should really be holding that competition in trust for the future of football.” Masters added: “I think it’s a bad idea, and the FA have taken the right position regards to Gianni.” SENEGAL have appointed France’s 1998 World Cup winner Patrick Vieira as head coach, the country’s football fed eration announced yesterday, succeed ing Pape Thiaw who was dismissed after the World Cup. The appointment of Vieira, who was born in Senegal, is a “strategic move”, the federation said in a social media post, aiming to “establish a high-level technical staff, in line with our country’s sporting ambitions”. His main mission will be to revitalise the team after Senegal’s bruising loss to Belgium in the last 32 of the World Cup. Thiaw was sacked less than two weeks later. The 45-year-old former Senegal international had taken over as national team boss in 2024. The FSF’s announce ment on Facebook was accompanied by an image of Vieira smiling and the mes sage “Welcome to Senegal, coach”. His official presentation as head coach will occur at a future, unspecified date, it added. Simeone insists Atletico ‘build team around’ Alvarez COACH Diego Simeone again insisted yesterday that Julian Alvarez would not leave Atletico Madrid this year, saying he wanted to “build a team around” the Argentina striker. Last month, Atletico filed a complaint to Fifa over Barcelona allegedly tapping up Alvarez. The 26 year-old has also been linked with a possible move to Premier League cham pions Arsenal and was the subject of a rejected €150m (RM690m) bid from Real Madrid in June. “He’s an extraordi nary guy. We had a good chat the other day, as we always do,” Simeone said ahead of Atletico’s La Liga opener against Malaga overnight. “He’s our best attacking player. I said it last year, and I still think so. We need to try to build a team around him.” Atletico CEO Miguel Angel Marin has also repeatedly stated that Alvarez is not for sale. “When the club’s owner speaks so clearly, there is nothing more to add. It’s like in court proceedings – the case is dismissed,“ added Simeone. Atletico finished fourth in La Liga last season, 25 points adrift of champions Barcelona. Vieira appointed as Senegal coach

this decision. Overall, I feel very posi tive and am on the right track. “What helps me most on this jour ney is continuing to chase victories and titles with my team and with your amazing support. “I hope this helps you understand the situation better. At the same time, I ask for your understanding regarding my wish to keep this matter private, sharing it only with my closest circle, the club, and the medical experts.” Bayern are due to return to action when they face Borussia Dortmund in the German Supercup on Saturday. – The Independent

rently part of my everyday life. “I am receiving excellent medical care and remain very optimistic. FC Bayern and my personal support net work are right by my side, helping me through this. “Importantly, there is no further health risk involved. In close consulta tion and regular contact with the experts, it was my personal wish to face this challenge. With the medical clearance of the neurologists, I want to continue doing what helps my recov ery most: simply living my life and pur suing my passion for playing football. “I have taken full responsibility for

“I understand that many of you are worried. I would like to put those con cerns to rest today and explain the situation: I have been diagnosed with brief, temporary – but treatable – absence seizures resulting from a neu rological dysfunction. “These can lead to the kind of inci dents seen recently, such as during the match against Leipzig or the game in Heidenheim. “I know they might look alarming at first glance, but for me, they are cur

The 23-year-old Bayern Munich winger fell to the ground just eight minutes after entering the field as a substitute during a friendly against FC Heidenheim on Tuesday night. That episode followed a similar occurrence during Saturday’s match against RB Leipzig, though the Germany international has reassured supporters that there is no long-term danger to his health. Writing on Instagram , he said: “First

Broken winning machine Guardiola’s Man City reign ends with cracks behind the scenes A CLUE was caught on camera. Would the interviewee still be Manchester City man ager in five or six years? “Absolutely not,” smiled Pep Guardiola (pic) . He proved every meeting in every f****** thing. Every f****** meeting, it’s my name,” Walker replied. Two weeks later, Guardiola warned Walker at halftime in the Manchester derby to be wary of balls over the City defence. One eventually led to Amad Diallo’s winner for Manchester United.

decisions that followed, including De Bruyne’s departure. “It kills me,” Guardiola says of allowing the Belgian to leave at the end of his contract. Chief executive Ferran Soriano adds: “Kevin spoke to Pep and he understood the message but was sad about it. He really doesn’t want to go.” The rebuilding process becomes another central theme. Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak admits City did too little in the 2024 summer transfer window. “We paid a price,” he says. They subsequently spent heavily, using 43 different metrics to identify potential replacements for De Bruyne before settling on Rayan Cherki. “The information on Cherki was not so positive,” sporting director Hugo Viana admits. “There was this idea he was chaotic.” Yet further investigation convinced City to proceed, while Guardiola personally spoke to Cherki on a video call to persuade him to join. Even then, City’s own AI quality index rated them only third favourites for the Premier League, behind Arsenal and another rival. The computer, unlike many humans, got it right. It was ultimately Guardiola’s final season. “I had energy that I will not have any more,” he admits in a belated explanation to his players. In fact, he had considered leaving much earlier. “To lose five, six, seven in a row, that doesn’t happen to me,” he said. “I said to the club, ‘maybe it’s over.’” It wasn’t – not then. But Al Mubarak admits Guardiola had become “the boy who cried wolf”. Eventually, he says, “this time he is actually the wolf”. Former City director of football Txiki Begiristain believes Guardiola now needs to discover what comes next. “He needs rest and he needs to see there is a life after football,” he says. “If he knows only football and football people, he will be on the same rollercoaster he has been living.” After more than a decade at the summit, perhaps that is Guardiola’s greatest challenge now: learning that there is life beyond football. – The Independent

true to his word. Prime Video ’s A Beautiful Obsession offers a final glimpse into the City dressing room during the Catalan’s reign, and it is far removed from the polished images of their trophy-laden years. Instead, City are losing almost every week, Guardiola is emotional and increasingly bewildered, and a once all-conquering team appears to have lost its powers. It becomes a story of farewells – some bitter, some sad, some sudden and others drawn out. Most striking is the breakdown of Guardiola’s relationship with Kyle Walker, with the manager holding his captain responsible for goals conceded and the right back feeling unfairly blamed. “You don’t understand, Kyle,” an exasperated Guardiola told him after the December 2024 defeat at Liverpool. “You keep saying my name,

Walker played only three more times for City before his career at the club came to an abrupt end. There are other images of a team falling apart. Injured Rodri sits in the dressing room wearing a hoodie bearing the slogan “the Untouchables” after another defeat, while Kevin De Bruyne walks in following City’s 4-0 home humiliation by Tottenham and declares: “F****** soft, guys.” At the centre of it all is Guardiola, struggling to understand how his champions have suddenly found themselves in almost unthinkable form.

“If I am the problem, you have to tell me,” he pleads with his players, his voice welling up. After another defeat, he demands a response. “Make me feel you are here, f****** hell, it is a good team, a good club. Now we have to do more because we are in a mess.” The raw footage provides a welcome antidote to the sanitised football documentaries that usually chronicle success. Director Kevin MacDonald understands that there is something more revealing about watching a serial winner lose.

City won 33 matches during the 2024-25 season, but 30 of those victories do not feature. Instead, the opening episode focuses heavily on their extraordinary autumn collapse, when they suffered nine defeats in 12 games. The documentary also examines the difficult

Bezos consortium bought nearly 40% of Liverpool

A CONSORTIUM including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos bought close to 40% of Premier League giants Liverpool, the Athletic reported yester day. It was initially reported that 1892 Holdings had purchased a third of the club from Fenway Sports Group, the owners of 20-time English champions Liverpool, but the Athletic said the actual figure was closer to 38%. There is also an option for the con sortium to buy a controlling stake in Liverpool in the next 12 months, though that does not involve a formal commitment.

That failure led to Arne Slot being sacked as Liverpool manager just 12 months after he masterminded a Premier League title triumph in his first season since succeeding Jurgen Klopp. With several weeks until the Premier League transfer window closes, the new investment could be a boost to Reds boss Andoni Iraola as he looks to strengthen his squad for the new season. Liverpool have so far spent around £94 million (RM489m) on signing Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz since the end of last term. – AFP

lionaire Lakshmi Mittal, was QPR co owner for 18 years before stepping away from the English Championship club once his Liverpool link became public knowledge. FSG bought Liverpool for £300 mil lion (RM1.6b) in 2010 and sold a minority stake of around 3% to global sports investment firm Dynasty Equity three years ago. Liverpool start their Premier League campaign at Newcastle on Sunday. They are looking to bounce back from a disappointing fifth-place finish in the top flight last season.

US-based FSG said last Friday it had agreed the deal with 1892 Holdings, a consortium led by British Indian millionaire Amit Bhatia and also featuring Bezos and Eduardo Saverin, who co-founded Facebook . American tycoon Bezos is the fourth-richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$256 billion (RM1.07t). This is Bezos’s first investment in a sports team after he was previously linked with purchasing NFL franchises Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders. Amit, the son-in-law of Indian bil